Following the Renter’s Rights Act (RRA), the buy-to-let market has of late been subject to much scrutiny as property professionals assess how it is to be affected in the long-term.
The most negative among them feared that the Act, following years of increases in the tax burden, as well as creeping legislative responsibilities, would have finally tipped the scales against landlords, threatening the rental market itself.
While not much time has elapsed since the Act became law, it’s safe to say that the most negative projections look to be unfounded. Though the extra tax, regulatory and cost pressures are pushing smaller landlords out of the picture, larger more professional landlords are expanding and refinancing.
Landlords now hold an average of 6.5 mortgages across multiple lenders, showing that the market is increasingly dominated by experienced portfolio operators rather than the more casual landlords with smaller portfolios. Recent analysis by Connells the estate agency shows that in June, for the first time since 2019, the number of homes being bought by landlords has been higher than that for those which were sold.
Industry professionals would be wise not to pay too much heed to one statistic, but there are other arguments to back the view that the buy-to-let market may be seeing a new lease of life.
For one, rental yields remain strong in 2026 compared to 2025. Despite the extra layers of complexity added by the RRA to the process of letting a property, the market still fundamentally offers good returns on investment. House price growth in the calendar year has been unspectacular, meaning that those who are buying for the purpose of letting can see good returns on their investment.
But perhaps the most important factor is that professional buy-to-let investors are becoming more attuned to the regional disparities in opportunity which define the market - and better equipped to take advantage. Rental yields in the north of England, for example, are considerably more attractive than those in London and the south-east.
Activity in buy-to-let investment in the north of England is high. The volume of buy-to-let loans provided by Together so far in 2026 has been 61% higher in the north-west than in Greater London.
Many landlords based in London and the South are now buying properties hundreds of miles away to access stronger returns.
The wider availability of data pertaining to everything ranging from land values to EPC statuses is allowing investors to hone in on the areas which offer the best returns on investment. The process of acquiring properties beyond investors’ usual areas of operation is also becoming much easier with the proliferation of online auctions.
Managing those investments often requires a more holistic borrowing strategy across the entire portfolio rather than a property-by-property approach. Those who are able to restructure their portfolios and consolidate their investments are best positioned to expand. The key now is being able to release equity to drive this expansion, and this is more easily achieved when portfolios are consolidated and uncomplicated.
The direction of travel clearly favours the larger buy-to-let corporations and investors targeting growth on a national scale. For those willing to adapt, the outlook for the rest of 2026 and beyond remains remarkably resilient. By shifting focus towards high-yielding northern hotspots, investors are proving that the market’s fundamentals are still strong. Success in this new regulatory landscape for buy-to-let investors will be defined by geographical flexibility and sophisticated portfolio-wide financing.
